what would you fear the most in being confronted by a dog; - Page 1

play the bad guy here for a minute, you got caught tresspassing by a dog or you are pursued by a PSD or some such scenario, you flee into a building and come to a dead end, you stand motionless to avoid detection of the dog. the dog finds you;

note: both dogs are untitled and have not had any sport training

both dogs are certified to locate and alert without engagement

not interested in the tactical philoosophy

not interested in how you would respond to the dog - in fact you stand motionless in the scenario

Dog A comes in full speed slides to a halt with no room to spare between you both, dog starts bouncing so your eyes become level each bounce while the dog is rapidly barking, foaming at the mouth, muzzle punching you in the chest and face, fangs exposed and saliva flying.

Dog B locates you props, gives a short flurry of deep alert barks, closes the gap in a silent purposeful staking motion, does not bark or bounce just silently laser beams your eyes with it's eyes, 12 inches distance between you and dog, dog in a semi crouch and becomes a statue

please analyse the dogs drives and intent and which dog would you prefer genetically.

Pretend scenario with no real answer.

speculate

Would I have a gun ?

speculating.....

Dog A - bluffing - most likely a male - intimidating, looking for you to submit/back up.

Dog B - would pick that one - most likely female, dangerous, seeing you as a prey will go for the throat if she can, love her already. :)

In my experience, dogs do NOT act the way Dog 1 does unless they are trained for IPO, or are behind a fence, and can't get to the person. It's the frustration that causes the jumping. In IPO, the barrier is 'invisible', but the dog is frustrated nonetheless by not being allowed to bite until given the signal.  A dog defending its territory just stays a certain distance away from the person and barks. If you back away slowly, they will usually let you go. (Not an option here, obviously...)

Dog 2 is definitely in a more predatory mode, and, IMO, would be more likely to attack.

Stalking is prey behavior, crouching is part of a stalk.  Normal dogs don't see adult people as prey (food).  Flawed scenario for dog 2.  Dog 1 hitting and punching you with no training and no biting is in play behavior.  Flawed as well.  (saliva flyinig means what?)

These two animals don't exist. 

I do not know about Dog B not existing.    I see Cirberus do this type of stalking frequently when playing with Max.   I have not seen her do that with a human, but I definitly can picture her doing that.   The big question is what would trigger the stalking.

I agree that the first dog is probably bluffing.  In my  limited  experience with German Shepherds,  barking is not really in their nature (part of why I love them); if they do bark in a natural situation, they are either playing or bluffing.   When they are really intent on a take down, they are quite, alert, and very intense (another reason why I love them).

Not sure that I would choose either dog though.  The first one probably barks in other scenarios continually and that would get on my nerves eventually.   The second one will require extensive training to channel that intensity; well beyond my capabilities and training access.

On second thought, I agree with bzcz! 

I didn't really think about the predatory thing. I just know the dogs that are REALLY dangerous are usually the silent ones. The ones that are all bark and bluff USUALLY won't attack unless they feel threatened/backed into a corner. And, as I said above, Dog 1 is behaving like a trained IPO dog doing a bark and hold. And yes, the flying saliva is a little fanciful...   The dogs that come in here for boarding that drool are either congenital droolers (usually NOT GSDs) or they are drooling from anxiety. A serious working or protection dog should NOT be drooling.

Yes, Blitzen. When I picture you, you have a gun.